ILWomen.com Power Rankings: March 5

Upsets were the theme of a wild week in women’s Division I lacrosse. Syracuse, which led Northwestern 6-2 at one point Wednesday night before falling in overtime, upset Florida in Gainesville. Stony Brook earned their first win over a ranked opponent in program history and Towson topped crosstown rival Loyola by a goal in a defensive battle.

1. Northwestern

The Wildcats found themselves trailing in a game for the first time this season when they took on Syracuse in the Carrier Dome Wednesday night. As always, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller made some adjustments and the team responded. Northwestern came out in the second half and scored the first six goals while holding Syracuse’s Michelle Tumolo relatively quiet after she went off for two goals and two assists in the first half. Smith led the Cats with five goals and an assist. Northwestern followed up the performance with a 15-2 win over Oregon on Saturday.

2. North Carolina

The Tar Heels were 4-16 shooting in the first half against Penn. Coach Jenny Levy said she told her players at halftime to be aggressive toward the cage but to be a little more patient and wait for a higher percentage shot. The team listened, going 11-15 in the second en route to a 15-6 win over the Quakers. The Heels had a very balanced offensive performance, getting four goals from sophomore Abbey Friend and three goals and two assists each from Laura Zimmerman and Emily Garrity.

3. Duke

Freshman Kerrin Maurer is continued to make a strong case for Rookie of the Year, scoring four goals and adding an assist in a 12-9 win over Princeton. Three of those points came in three straight Duke goals to start the second half and allow the Blue Devils to pull away. Emma Hamm helped Duke to a 15-8 advantage on the draw. Duke travels to Stony Brook Monday before hosting Georgetown on Saturday.

4. Maryland

The Terps bounced back from last week’s loss to Duke with a solid 12-9 win over Virginia on a rainy Friday night. Maryland led 5-2 at halftime but was 5-18 shooting and had won just two of eight draws. The second half was a different story as Beth Glaros was able to figure out Virginia’s Josie Owen on the circle and the Terps won 10 of 15 draws. Karri Ellen Johnson, Katie Schwarzmann and Kelly McPartland each scored three goals for Maryland with Johnson adding two assists.

5. Syracuse

No team in Division I started the season with as tough a slate as the Orange have and they’re 2-2 having already played two of the nation’s top five teams. Syracuse had a chance to take down Northwestern Wednesday night at home, but gave up a four-goal lead before eventually succumbing in overtime. They wouldn’t let it happen again Saturday against Florida, even when the Gators scored the last three goals of regulation to send the game into overtime, the Orange kept plugging away. Katie Webster, who finished the game with two goals, scored her biggest one 45 seconds into the second overtime to lift Syracuse to the win.

“We never gave up and kept fighting,” said coach Gary Gait on the Syracuse website. “We made a shot when we needed to. We haven’t been able to do that the last couple of games, but that’s what you learn from playing tough games and a tough schedule.”

The challenges certainly don’t end there. Orange get the Terps in College Park on Saturday.

6. Notre Dame

Junior goalie Ellie Hilling had a tremendous day in net, making 16 saves and the Irish defense held Ohio State’s Gabby Cappuzzi and Alayna Markwordt to a combined 2 for 14 shooting. Notre Dame’s offense has been more prolific in the early season than it has in years past. Sunday, it was the midfield that shined, getting three goals from Katilin Brosco, two and an assist from Jenny Granger and a goal and an assist each from Caitlin Gargan and Margaret Smith. Next up: Boston University on Saturday.

7. Florida

The Gators came out flat against Syracuse, allowing the Orange to score the game’s first four goals. What stands out the most for Florida in the loss is the 39 shots they took, 11 of which fell for goals. That’s a subpar 28 percent shooting and Florida just couldn’t execute. The Gators travel to Washington D.C. to take on Georgetown on Wednesday.

8. Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt found themselves trailing Stanford 6-3 at halftime on Saturday but flipped a switch in the second half, outscoring the Cardinal 12-3 in the second frame for a 15-9 win. Alley Carey showed why she is the heart and soul of the Commodores, contributing two goals, two assists and a whopping seven draw controls in the win.

9. Georgetown

The Hoyas opened the season with two wins, outscoring Delaware and Villanova by a combined 21 goals. Dina Jackson appears to have adjusted nicely to her role as the team’s offensive leader. She leads the Hoyas with seven goals and an assist. Reigning Big East Midfielder of the Year Sophia Thomas has five goals and an assist and Kristen Coleman, a graduate student who is Fairfield’s all-time leader in points, goals and assists, has also added five in a non-starting role on attack.

10. Penn

Emily Leitner made a career high 11 saves, but it wasn’t enough as Penn fell to North Carolina 15-6 on Saturday afternoon. Nine of those saves were in the first half and the Quakers had trouble containing all of the Tar Heels offensive threats in the second, letting up 11 goals in the second frame. Penn hosts Rutgers, coming off an upset win over Princeton, and Ivy League foe Harvard this week.

11. Penn State

The Nittany Lions have won three straight since dropping a decision to Maryland in February, their latest win coming in an impressive 14-7 victory at home over Virginia. Freshman Maggie McCormick had two goals and four assists while junior Molly Fernandez and sophomore Mackenzie Cyr each finished with five points. Penn State’s defense held Virginia’s starters to just three combined goals and goalie Dana Cahill had nine saves. Loyola at home is up next.

12. Virginia

This weekend was not good to the Cavaliers, who entered undefeated and coming off a big win over Syracuse and finished 3-2 with losses to Maryland and Penn State. Virginia couldn’t get the ball when they needed to Friday night against the Terps and found themselves trailing 6-0 to Penn State midway through the first half, a deficit which they couldn’t overcome.

The Cavaliers are a good team, but couldn’t overcome the adversity of playing two games against two tough opponents on the road in pretty terrible conditions in a three day span. They can right the ship when they host North Carolina Saturday.

13. Dartmouth

Sarah Plumb scored six goals, including the game winner with just over two minutes remaining to lift Dartmouth over Yale on Saturday. Plumb has overwhelmingly been the center of the Big Green’s offense this season with a team-leading 11 points on nine goals and two assists. Dartmouth hosts Boston University on Wednesday.

14. Ohio State

The Buckeye’s perfect start to the season came to an abrupt halt on Sunday afternoon in the Horseshoe as they fell 16-7 to Notre Dame. The 16 goals allowed is the most the Buckeyes have let up all season. Kirsten Donahue led OSU with two goals, but the offense hit a hot goalie in the Irish’s Ellie Hilling as they finished with seven goals on 29 shots.

15. Boston College

Freshman Emily Mata got her first career start Friday against UConn and recorded 11 saves in a 19-11 win for the Eagles. Boston College has one of the top offenses in the nation, averaging almost 15 goals per game, but the defense has yet to find consistency. Eagles travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt in what will be a huge midweek tilt.

16. Princeton

At 1-2, the Tigers haven’t had the best start to the season. Wednesday saw Princeton get upended by Rutgers in overtime and Saturday, they struggled at the draw circle against Duke’s Emma Hamm and against the Blue Devil’s transition game. The Tigers get their first Ivy League opponent in Brown on Saturday.

17. Stony Brook

The Seawolves earned arguably the biggest win in the history of their program, beating Johns Hopkins on Saturday for the first-ever win over a ranked team. Claire Petersen had six goals, including the game winner with nine seconds left on the clock, to lead Stony Brook. Seawolves are averaging more than 16 goals per game, but will have to tighten up defensively against Duke, which travels to LaValle Stadium on Wednesday.

18. Loyola

Draw controls continue to plague the Greyhounds, who won just three of 20 on Wednesday in a win over Johns Hopkins and five of 10 in a loss to Towson on Saturday. Fouls played a big factor in Saturday’s loss as Towson scored four free position goals in the first half. Loyola is at Penn State Wednesday before hosting UMBC on Saturday.

19. Towson

Senior goalie Mary Teeters turned in an impressive 11-save performance and the Towson defense held Loyola to just six goals on 25 shots en route to a 7-6 win. Towson is 3-0 to start the season with a big game coming up Wednesday night against Johns Hopkins, which will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

20. Johns Hopkins

After a great start to the season, the Jays went 0-2 on the week, losing 11-7 to Loyola on Wedneday night and 15-14 to Stony Brook on Saturday. Hopkins struggled against Loyola’s defense Wednesday, turning the ball over 20 times. Saturday’s game against the Seawolves turned out to be a shootout, tied at 14 until SBU held for the last shot, and got the goal, leaving no time for Hopkins to answer.